No one knows the book biz like the people who handle books every day. Come and hear what local bookstore owners have to say about their life behind the counter, in the stacks, reading the industry rags and catalogs catalogs catalogs. How does YOUR book fit in to the bookstore universe? Bring questions and be prepared to take lots of notes! Now here’s President Kristen’s column from this month’s newsletter….
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The Wind in Your Sails

Some words from your president

One of my happiest moments as a writer was my first book launch at Laurel Bookstore. There were so many lumps and bumps to the process, but Luan was so encouraging. “Fun will not be denied,” she declared! I learned so much from her, and continue to learn. Now you can, too!
Instead of having one speaker at our March 18th meeting, we’ll have three local bookstore owners. Our speaker chair, Kymberlie Ingalls, will be moderating a conversation between Luan Stauss of Laurel Bookstore, Kathleen Caldwell of A Great Good Place for Books, and Bob Fisher of Walden Pond.  All of these beloved business leaders are incredibly supportive of local authors!
We’ll be talking about their roles as bookstore owners/buyers, and their relationship with authors. They will offer tips and advice for writers who wish to cultivate a relationship with a bookstore, how they deal with Amazon authors, and much more.
Then mark your calendars for Saturday, June 16th, when all of our club authors will celebrate recently published titles at our end-of-year party at Laurel Bookstore!
Between now and then, we will continue to grow our club in leaps and bounds. (Did you know we started the year with 60 members and now have 90?) It’s time to select the new leaders who will help our branch work smoothly and happily next year. What are your skills and how can they help the club? What would you like to learn? Hosting events? Talking to people? Are you any good at writing? There are lots of jobs for that! Contact Nomination Committee chair Christine Volker for information.
Sail On,
—Kristen Caven